Nothing is impossible - opening the HTC One. Now with video!

Uhuhu · Dec 23, 2013

After a trip to a shower my HTC One was declared dead (boot loop even after rice, humidity remover, heat, and others) I figured I would open the phone even it it meant that I could destroy it. It turns out that all you really need is patience and tools already available. Sure, I did bent the upper cover but, hey, everything else is intact.

I started by removing the volume button and started using those "guitar picks" around going down. Added some heat to unset the glue and moving slowly I started prying open the right side (when you are looking at the lcd). Than continued moving down until the left side was stuck. After that I went high on the volume button to set the whole right side open.
Now I'm using the other tool (the one that looks like a lever?) I started opening the left side. This side was a lot harder so I applied heat again. After that the glue wasn't an issue and it started to open nicely. Now I have the phone open and I'll see if I can get it working again.

Sorry for the English. I'm too excited to correct the mistakes and I'm not from an English speaking country.

Edit: added tools pictures.
The guitar picks were used to start opening the phone. The green and blue tool were used to open the left/top/bottom sides. The light blue tool was used mostly as a lever on the right side that was already open.

Edit2:
Video will be here shortly: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=48832250&postcount=22

Overall experience while opening the HTC One (compared to the iPad 2/iPhone 3G/S/4S/iPod touch 5th/Motorola Atrix/Transformer Prime) I would give it a 4. The iPad being a 2 (almost impossible to open without a heat source and nearly impossible to mount a new glass without issues).

chc31 · Dec 23, 2013

Uhuhu said:
After a trip to a shower

... Should I ask why?

gamer765 · Dec 23, 2013

To fix the purple tint caused by heat on the camera sensor. thats why.

Galactus · Dec 23, 2013

chc31 said:
... Should I ask why?

After dropping my an old phone in the toilet (Before I went

) never again. My phone is barred from the bathroom unless its in my pocket. I guess the OP wanted to have some alone time with his phone.........................

Uhuhu · Dec 23, 2013

chc31 said:
... Should I ask why?

TuneIn, on the upper part of the bathroom/shower (we mostly call it "box" to take a shower while listening to music.

Von Ropen · Dec 24, 2013

Wow I think that this would be very usefull for other people who want open it...

jags_the1 · Dec 24, 2013

Von Ropen said:
Wow I think that this would be very usefull for other people who want open it...

Well, it clearly isint. He just wanted everyone to know that he was able to open the phone.

Ok you did a pretty amazing job. Now let's move on.

Sent from my One using xda app-developers app

Von Ropen · Dec 24, 2013

jags_the1 said:
Well, it clearly isint. He just wanted everyone to know that he was able to open the phone.

Ok you did a pretty amazing job. Now let's move on.

Sent from my One using xda app-developers app

Sorry you meant he was able to break the phone

Uhuhu · Dec 24, 2013

Von Ropen said:
Sorry you meant he was able to break the phone

Phone is back. 100% working again. After opening it up I used a hairdryer on the "on/off" switch, left it open to cool down. After an hour I left it charging and left it there. It wasn't boot looping anymore and it turned on.

Von Ropen · Dec 24, 2013

Uhuhu said:
Phone is back. 100% working again. After opening it up I used a hairdryer on the "on/off" switch, left it open to cool down. After an hour I left it charging and left it there. It wasn't boot looping anymore and it turned on.

But it is the same phone? how did you repare the top right corner of the screen that was completely off centered?

Uhuhu · Dec 24, 2013

Von Ropen said:
But it is the same phone? how did you repare the top right corner of the screen that was completely off centered?

Same phone. I just glued it back to position with a superglue (superbonder is the trademark I've used). Used a toothpick to smear it gently and used some phone books to keep things in place. The top aluminum part was bent but the superglue is now holding it.

About the video, I'm not sure I'm willing to open it again. It would be awesome tho..

twerg · Dec 24, 2013

I have read that under the speaker grills there are screws holding it together.. did you encounter these screws?

Uhuhu · Dec 24, 2013

twerg said:
I have read that under the speaker grills there are screws holding it together.. did you encounter these screws?

Found no screws. It's stuck together in one piece by some clips on the white border only. It's also glued around the same white border.

Follow-up: The phone is still working fine but not charging anymore. I'll wait to open it again later, in about two days or so, and than I'll video the process to see if there's something wrong. Hopefully it's fixable. And I hope I can open it without issues just like the first time. If it doesn't charge I'll see if I can get a new charging port (maybe the water did some damage by rusting the contacts of the port).

Uhuhu · Dec 25, 2013

It seems that the phone is playing tricks on me. It's charging today.. Go figure..

Dark Jedi · Dec 25, 2013

Could be the water damage. I read where people with different phones talked about the phone acting weird like it just stop charging or the screen won't come on. That would come and go without warning. Remember my father in law damaged a phone once when he was a truck driver and delivering his load in to a walk in freezer. He made many trips in and out and I guess from the extreme cold to heat made it condensate inside the phone. Where are the water damage labels on the phone beings you had it open?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Uhuhu · Dec 25, 2013

Double post.

Uhuhu · Dec 25, 2013

Water labels are intact and since htc left Brazil we don't have an authorized to fix it so I opened it and saw that there is no water indicator in red. The water damage sticker is below the flash. Look at the pictures and you'll see a white sticker below the flash and another close to the usb port on the lower side of the phone. Not sure if the second one is a water damage indicator..

I'll keep using the phone till I get some alone time to open it. Tho I'm worried that I might break the phone this time (since it's working again - for no apparent reason).

Uhuhu · Dec 26, 2013

So, yeah, there's an issue with the charging. Not sure if it's the port or the phone. Tested different chargers and it won't charge while it's on nor when it's off. After a day off it charged (yesterday) but now it won't charge. This sux. I have to find out what's going on. So, yes, I'll have to open it again. I can't have a phone that will be used to drive using gps all day behaving it like that. Phones won't last 4 hours on battery alone while using gps.

Uhuhu · Dec 26, 2013

Added new picture with tools used..

Uhuhu · Dec 26, 2013

Sorry for the double/triple post, but it's the best way to keep everyone informed..

If I helped you in any way please consider donating something so I can buy a new phone. The HTC One is dead due to an issue with the USB connector or something else that I'm still not aware. I will use this phone as a test bed from now on to see if I can fix other stuff without breaking too so I do need a new phone. You can donate here: http://bit.ly/1a9vqqg

Thanks and enjoy the video! I hope it helps a lot of people.

A video will be uploaded here: (it's 04:37am GMT -2) and still 205 minutes left to upload. Video will be 720p and it's 1.2gb so yeah, it will take a while. But now I'm off to bed. And sorry for my english. I'm ok writing but I'm so so when speaking.

I said I would edit the video but since it's just shy of 19 minutes I figured I would leave it like that.

If you guys have any idea on what to do to help me fix the charging issue I would see if I can try that now that the phone can be easily opened. :fingers-crossed:

Nothing is impossible - opening the HTC One. Now with video!

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